Great and Holy Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday

Jesus teaches in the temple, which we remember in the readings and chants of the Pre-Sanctified Liturgy and the Bridegroom Service. The Pre-Sanctified Liturgy and Holy Communion comprise Vespers, the evening prayer, which is moved forward to the morning. The Bridegroom Service with the The Troparion of the Bridegroom comprises Matins, the morning prayer, which is moved forward to the evening of the day before.

Matins is the the Bridegroom Service of Great and Holy Tuesday, which is celebrated on Great and Holy Monday evening

Jesus teaches in the temple, which we remember in the readings and chants of the Bridegroom Service.
We commemorate the story of the Ten Virgins, the men entrusted with the talents, and the Last Judgement.
Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ's told a parable regarding the wise and foolish virgins. The wise virgins continually awaited the coming of their Master with alertness, their lamps burning through the darkness. The foolish ones went to sleep, assuming they would have enough time to prepare at the last minute. But the Bridegroom came in the midst of the night, rewarding those who kept watch for Him and casting out those who wasted the opportunity to prepare to meet him.
Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ's told a parable regarding the men entrusted with the talents. A gift from God must by wisely to bear fruit.
We must prepare for the Last Judgement and the end of the world.

The troparion sung recalls the Gospel story of the servants waiting all night for the bridegroom to come. We understand that the Bridegroom for whom we are waiting is the Messiah.

The Troparion of the Bridegroom
Behold, the Bridegroom is coming in the middle of the night: blessed is the servant He shall find awake. But the one He shall find neglectful will not be worthy of Him. Beware, there-fore, O my soul! Do not fall into deep
slumber, lest you be delivered to death and the door of the kingdom be closed on you. Watch instead, and cry out: "Holy, Holy, Holy are You, O God! Through the intercession of the angels, have mercy on us."

Liturgical Text

English Bridegroom Text The Melkite Eparchy of Australia and New Zealand, a Microsoft Word .doc file

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dedicated to my cousins: Bucky (Richard C. Liles) and Shirley (Shirley Jean Liles Buck). Bucky fell asleep in the Lord on Dec. 12, 2000 and Shirley fell asleep in the Lord on Nov. 8, 2001.
O God of all spirits and of all flesh, who have destroyed death, overcome the devil, and given life to the world: grant, O Lord, to the souls of your servants Bucky and Shirley, who has departed from this life, that it may rest in a place of light, in a place of happiness, in a place of peace, where there is no pain, no grief, no sighing. And since You are a gracious God and the Lover of Mankind, forgive him/her every sin he/she has committed by thought, or word, or deed, for there is not a man who lives and does not sin : You alone are without sin, your righteousness is everlasting, and your word is true. You are the Resurrection and the Life, and the repose of your departed servants Bucky and Shirley. O Christ our God, and we send up glory to You, together with your eternal Father and your all-holy, good and life-givng Spirit, now and always and for ages upon ages. Amen.